A couple of weeks ago during a phone interview, Colorado senior wide receiver Scotty McKnight told me about how much he was looking forward to playing this season with so much depth at that position.

“It’s going to be fun,” McKnight said. “That’s what you need to compete in the Big 12.’’

It appears there will be one less scoring threat than McKnight had anticipated. On Wednesday, Colorado announced that junior wideout Markques Simas has been indefinitely suspended from the team and there is only a slight chance that he could return — and that would be as a walk-on.

Big loss. Simas came on strong at the end of the 2009 season with 31 catches in the last four games.

“We’ll definitely have some weapons. We’re going to put pressure on other team’s defenses,” McKnight said last month, assuming that he would team with Simas and Michigan transfer Toney Clemons during sets that included at least three receivers.

The best laid plans …

Nobody should blame the CU coaches. They gave Simas so many chances. A second chance became a third chance, then a fourth and fifth. A former four-star recruit from San Diego’s Mira Mesa High School, Simas couldn’t seem to stay out of trouble. This is his third suspension during four years on campus, and he was academically ineligible as a freshman.

According to the Boulder Daily Camera, Simas was arrested Feb. 12 for driving under the influence. He pleaded not guilty on March 29, but a warrant was issued when he failed to appear for a May 12 court date.

As a team penalty for the DUI arrest, Simas was held out of the first three sessions of spring practice. After his failure to appear on May 12, CU coach Dan Hawkins apparently finally had enough and suspended Simas indefinitely. In other words, he has been kicked off the team.

Why Simas continues to make bad choices is anyone’s guess. He can carry on an intelligent conversation. He is well-liked by teammates. He doesn’t loaf on the field. With big hands and an NFL body, he appeared to have a bright future.

I don’t get it. All Simas had to do was stay out of trouble. Sad.

CU coaches must now be especially thankful that Clemons is eligible this season. And somebody else must step up. Perhaps it will be Kendrick Celestine, who returned to the team this year after having returned home to Louisiana in 2008. Or maybe it will be sophomore Will Jefferson, senior Andre Simmons or redshirt-freshmen Terdema Ussery and Jarrod Darden. A true freshman might even get an early look.

There are options and opportunities. But CU fans had to be so looking forward of a “trips” formation of Clemons, McKnight and Simas.

Kensler joined The Denver Post in 1989 and has covered a variety of beats, including Colorado, Colorado State, golf, Olympics and the Denver Broncos. His brush with greatness: losing in a two-on-two pickup basketball game at Ohio State against two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.